Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Day 844: another house tour

Not to be redundant, but I have another house tour that you must see. This one is in the November issue of Southern Living and it has me positively drooling over the 1852 Georgia farmhouse. Will you just look at those floorboards and the horizontal paneling in the entry (above)? I just love too see a gracious, Southern home updated and dressed to the nines in a way that is modern and cool but still classic -- and not a bit stuffy.

The facade reminds me of this one. I've always had a thing for sort-of Colonial-looking homes.

Designer Jamie McPherson grew up next door to the house that he now calls home (here he is in the dining room he uses as his office -- I do the same thing, but it doesn't look as chic!).

He and partner Tra Raines evidently have a thing for Empire furniture, as they have several pieces (like this sideboard).

Jamie definitely has a thing for bird motifs, and repeats them throughout the house in various forms. For collecting, he suggests finding a pattern and sticking to it. Then, "it becomes a fun pastime to hunt down a specific piece, like a compote or soup tureen, that matches your other dishes," he told writer Robert Martin.

The kitchen was added in the 1940s and has whitewashed cabinets and marble counters. I love the way the light filters through the shades and picks up the pretty wood top on the island. And who doesn't love those pendants from Circa?

But the living room is my favorite, with its cozy gray-green walls and beautiful mantle. The wingback chairs are vintage (recovered, of course) and I love the smoky glass on the brass coffee table.

In the master bedroom, an Empire card table serves as a bedside table. My grandmother has one similar to this and I've always admired it.

More birds appear over the mantle. It's no wonder I'm so smitten with this house, many of the furnishings came from my favorite store, Bungalow Classic in Atlanta (these chairs are from Bobby McAlpine's collection).

The bath was added under the eaves and is outfitted with vintage-style hexagon and subway tiles. I don't know about you, but this is really filling the Cottage Living-shaped void in my heart!Photos are by Laurey W. Glenn for Southern Living; styling by Anne Turner Carroll.

Thank you for all the kind words about my home. She truly is a work in progress. Hopefully the main floor Master Suite will be completed this year and I can get it posted here for you all to see. Also, I have been selected to be the designer Southern Living's 2010 Idea House in Senoia, GA. I'll keep you posted! Jamie Elliott McPherson

We had looked at the property and the place looked absolutely beautiful after checking out there website and later touring the grounds. However, when we were just about to make a decision on the event center, we found out that they were not only operating without a license because the place apparently was a fire hazard, the County actually closed it down and several weddings had to be cancelled or postponed because of it.

Just last week, we found out that a friend of ours was supposed to be in a wedding there, but that they were not told until Friday morning (the day before) that the wedding would not take place there! Apparently Vinewood knew this since Tuesday, but failed to notify them as soon as they learned that they had to stop operations until the conditions set by the county were met.

I did a little more digging, and it turns out that the owner, Jamie Elliot McPherson, was arrested for “theft by conversion”, basically taking money from several clients by failing to deliver anything in return. A simple Google search on “Jamie McPherson arrest log” will get you the arrest log of 3/29/2011 from the local paper. With the F rating the Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives them, it is no surprise that his kitchen business “Hearth and Home Interiors” is no longer in operation. I guess the locals chased him out of town because they were sick and tired of his lies and empty promises. I am not surprised to hear from several locals that they are apparently filling for bankruptcy!